Urban creator Jennifer Kesteleyn traded her PhD for a career in photography.

February 14, 2019

min read

Jennifer Kesteleyn has been working as a photographer at Chase since the summer of 2017. In 2018, Jennifer decided to work full-time as a photographer and focus on developing her own style and direction in photography.

The Chase Urban Creators are digital creatives who produce videos, photos, articles, and social media content on topics such as urban music, lifestyle, the creative community, and society. They are a diverse group of young people seeking a platform to express their passions and hone their skills.

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How did you get into photography?

I had the opportunity to begin my PhD nine years ago, when I graduated from the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences. As a teaching assistant in the International Relations and Diplomacy program, I was able to travel extensively, and that’s how my interest in photography began. Mainly because I wanted to take nice photos for Instagram to share what I was experiencing during my adventures.

I quickly signed up for evening photography classes and continued traveling for a while, but photography remained more of a hobby. That is, until the final year of my PhD: I completely burned out. Was academic research really my calling? My interest in photography kept growing, and my online posts quickly gained attention. At that time, I mainly took self-portraits in abandoned buildings, and for some reason, people found them appealing. I eventually decided to give myself a year to reflect on what I wanted to do. During that year, I realized I was taking photos all the time, and I began to see more and more potential in it. Last year, I finally took the plunge, and now I’m recognized as a photographer.

And now you're working as an urban planner at Chase?

The year I dropped out of my PhD program, I stumbled upon Chase’s Facebook page by chance. I saw that they were looking for new collaborators, and that’s how I started photographing for them. Chase opened so many doors for me! I was featured in Chase’s “top photography on Instagram” section, which led to Motorola Belgium seeing my photos. Through them, I landed my first big assignment. This client still comes back to me, and through them I also give workshops on smartphone photography in Amsterdam.

For young photographers or journalists, Chase is an ideal platform for landing assignments and learning the ropes. After all, if you’re in a creative field, you’re always on the lookout for new challenges. So the more people see your photos, the faster you’ll make a name for yourself—and the more work you’ll get. I get all my assignments through social media. Instagram and Facebook are the channels where I find most of my work. People reach out to you faster on Messenger than they do by phone.

Have you also had negative experiences with social media?

The only thing I can think of is that one time I photographed a girl at a festival who later emailed me asking me to remove the photo from social media, which I did immediately. But apart from that, I really don’t care about social media policies, like Instagram’s. You have to agree to a transferable sublicense so they can use posted content. I don’t think Instagram is going to bother selling my photos. I don’t really mind what happens to my images, except for my personal work. You don’t take a photo to hide it: the best thing that can happen to a photo is that it is seen by many people. For paid assignments, I also sell my rights.

It’s like going to a bakery and asking for a free loaf of bread on the condition that you write a good online review about how tasty your sandwich is—that’s not how it works.

Do you have any tips for other digital creatives?

I get nervous when people ask me if I’ll take photos for free in exchange for exposure. People forget that you have to find models, buy equipment, come up with ideas, and so on. It’s like going to a bakery and asking for a free loaf of bread on the condition that you write a good online review about how tasty your sandwich is—that’s not how it works.

At the Cultuurloket, you’ll get a clear and thorough explanation of which statuses are the most beneficial. That’s what I would do as a first step if you’re looking for a creative job. Last year, I took the plunge myself and applied for artist status. After my time at the university, it wasn’t easy to transition to the unpredictable life of an artist. But it gives me freedom, and I can do what I want.

As for the rest, I can still say this: keep going. I’ve noticed with myself, too, that when things get tough, you have to keep going. During a quieter period, I happened to come across a call for a shoot for *Who’s That Girl?* through a Facebook ad. I was eventually selected based on my personal work.

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So your personal work is still important?

My personal work is my calling card: it shows who I am. So it’s important that your own calling card is as strong as possible. Instagram and Tumblr are good platforms for building this. Facebook still works well, in a strange way. Instagram is for younger people, but on Facebook you have a slightly older generation that’s also more willing to spend money on photo shoots. I have a professional page that’s practically inactive, but on my personal page I still have many friends and followers.

So I’m glad there’s a sort of division: Instagram appeals to younger people, while Facebook is for the older generation. I do worry that once that generation also moves to Instagram, the platform won’t have much of a future anymore. With the changes to the algorithm, it’s sometimes already hard to understand how the reach system works. But who knows what will come after Instagram? There’s already Behance, but it doesn’t really seem to be catching on.

So as a photographer, being active on multiple platforms isn’t that time-consuming. You’ve already taken the photo and done the work, so it really just comes down to posting, because the storytelling itself has already taken place. I also post at a different frequency because I’m not a blogger. Posting is the result of what I already do all day on my own; it’s a reflection of my work.

How did working at Chase influence your work?

Chase made sure I finished in third place at the Red Bull Electropedia — Nightlife Photography competition two years ago, and in 2018 I finished second. Thanks to Chase, I get to cover a large number of festivals, so they really support me in my passion for this type of photography. Festival shoots also provide a lot of exposure, which helps expand your network.

Photographing at festivals is also a whole experience in itself. You get just three songs’ worth of time to stand at the front of the pit. The rush you feel when you have to capture both the atmosphere and the artist in nine minutes, and the thrill of standing in front of that entire crowd, is amazing. You have to stay very focused and concentrated and not panic. I also only use one camera body: a telephoto lens to photograph the artist and a wide-angle lens for the crowd. At festivals, you can really experiment, like I did with star filters last year. At festivals, things are less strict, so you can truly express yourself and, in the best case, even make money from it.

Because of my status as an artist, I have a lot of flexibility, so I told Chase that I have the whole summer available to cover festivals. I’ve been working with Chase for two years now, and our collaboration has developed naturally. Sometimes I work for free when I have the time, and sometimes they book me for paid assignments.

What's your most memorable story from your time at Chase?

The moment I took that photo of Pharrell. Last year I was in the pit at Pukkelpop, a spot I got through Chase. When I arrived there, as one of the few female photographers, you could see all the men looking like, “Ah, the young girl.” N.E.R.D.’s performance started and everyone was standing at the front. For some reason, I had just changed lenses, moved away from the others, and was standing at the side of the stage. I turned around, saw Pharrell jump, and without thinking I took that photo.

All the male photographers also took good photos, but they were mostly classic shots. And when I showed that photo, you could see on their faces that they were thinking, “Wow, that young girl here even has the best photo!” That was amazing. Just the fact that I was able to seize all those opportunities is something I’ll never forget. You get to meet people within the community. That’s why the best advice I can give is: go out, look for small jobs, and you’ll quickly figure out what you like and what you don’t like. And for this, Chase is a great platform to start with.

Do you mainly want to continue working as a festival photographer?

I started my career with self-portraits and personal projects, and fashion is clearly the direction I want to pursue. The idea is that my personal work and fashion will begin to merge. Some photographers start by posting fashion photos on Instagram and are later approached by fashion brands or houses that ask them to shoot campaign photos in their own style. My approach, therefore, is to secure paid assignments through my personal work.

That’s why my style on Instagram is constantly evolving. If you don’t evolve as a photographer, people lose interest. You’ll always have certain themes that keep coming back. For me, those are my self-portraits, but I’m developing a new style that focuses more on social criticism. I’ve always had a vintage graphic style, but right now I’ve adopted a softer style with paler, more muted colors. I usually use a lot of shadows and flash, but I’ve never received as many likes and reactions as I do now.

In addition, all my new works have titles like “not working on my summer body,” “women behind the wheel is blood on the wall,” and so on. I want to give every photo a twist so I can shed some light on modern-day feminism. It’s a very hot topic—the whole #MeToo movement and cyberfeminism—and it’s still absurd that after so many years we’re still grappling with this unequal struggle.

Is further developing your own style your goal for 2019?

Yes, those are the skills I want to hone this year. I want to delve deeper into fashion photography and infuse it with more of the emotions from my personal work. People are drawn to my self-portraits because those images truly reflect how I feel. Hopefully, 2019 will be the year I really make my mark in this field.

Interview by Joke D'Hooghe.

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